The Second Time Around
by songbee
Summary: The war is over and Voldemort is gone forever. Ginny needs to piece her life back together, and Harry wants to help her. Will their second try at dating be better than the first? Set during/after the war  HP and the Deathly Hallows , but pre-epilogue
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, as I am not J. K. Rowling.**

The Second Time Around

Chapter 1:

It had absolutely been the worst moment in her life. Even worse than when he ended it all…because that was at least justified. It wasn't that he didn't love her anymore, or that there was something she did wrong. He was trying to protect her. And as much as she hated the fact that people were always trying to protect her, he was completely logical in his reasoning. And while she didn't care if she herself was killed to protect him…he did. And that made it all better in her eyes. It was almost…cute…in a really, really painful way.

It was worse than Tom Riddle slowly siphoning her soul from her body until the point that she'd rather just die already than continue the torture.

It was worse than the embarrassing moments with Harry, when she so obviously liked him, while he didn't even look at her.

No. This was worse. This was Voldemort's high and extremely scary voice announcing that Harry was dead. Not to mention the insulting lie that Harry was trying to run away and got killed, when it was clear that Harry had gone to give up his life for them all. The pain welled up in her heart, and she couldn't see a thing. It was excruciating. It was all over. It was almost that all her senses had been turned off.

She heard people screaming "NO!", and she realized that her voice was among them. Through the glaze of tears that were covering her eyes, she could see Hagrid, who holding a broken body. Just a body. Not Harry. She couldn't let herself think of the body as Harry. It hurt too much.

Voldemort was telling lies about Harry, and she couldn't stand it. Suddenly, everyone was screaming and shouting. Then the voices were cut off, and she felt her own scream gagged off halfway up her throat.

And then Neville was opposing Voldemort, and Voldemort was torturing him, and then chaos started. There were giants and centaurs and Neville was killing Nagini and Voldemort was about to kill Neville. And then Harry went missing.

Everyone was herded into the castle, and people were trampling over bodies of Death Eaters and Hogwarts' students alike. Everyone was fighting, and Ginny found herself in the Great Hall fighting Bellatrix with Hermione and Luna. She was fighting with every ounce of her being, determined to avenge Harry. She heard pure chaos all around her, as duels went on and people were attacked.

A Killing Curse nearly hit her and suddenly her mother was dueling with Bellatrix to the death. A fierce anger lit her mother's face, worse than Ginny had ever seen, even with the worst of Fred and George's tricks. It was pure and unadulterated hatred. And Bellatrix was killed.

Voldemort was about to kill her mother, and horror filled Ginny's stomach. And then, a miracle occurred. The greatest and biggest miracle that could ever exist. Harry reappeared.

Ginny's heart leaped with excitement and happiness and joy, although it was quickly quenched by the realization that now Harry was going against Voldemort and she would quite possibly have to watch him die. "Let him live. Let him live," she prayed, although to who, she wasn't quite sure. She wished she could send her strength to him, or do anything to help.

"I don't want anyone else to try to help," he said, "It's got to be like this. It's got to be me."

Harry and Voldemort were circling each other now.

"You won't be killing anyone else tonight," Harry said, and Ginny could read the determination in his eyes. She could see his fierce love for every single good person in this world, and how much he was willing to give up to save them.

Harry was explaining the concept and power of love to Voldemort.

And then, the duel was about to start. "So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" Harry whispered. "Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does…I am the true master of the Elder Wand." Apprehension filled Ginny's stomach. This was it.

The sun began to rise as Voldemort and Harry yelled out their spells. Suddenly, their spells collided, and the Elder Wand was flying towards Harry, and Harry caught it. And Voldemort was dead.

It took a second for everyone to realize that it was really over. Ginny felt herself running to Harry, determined to hug him and never let go. Her heart was filled with joy and jubilation. Harry was alive and Voldemort was gone!

Everyone sat at the House tables, jumbled together, not caring about Houses or races. Every person felt both intense exhaustion and relief. Ginny felt alone. Everyone else could surround Harry, talk to Harry, hug Harry. But she had to sit here with her mother, torn between her joy and relief and exhaustion and grief. She was sitting, waiting for Harry to come to her, hoping it would happen, but doubting it would.

Harry had disappeared from where he was sitting, and so had Ron and Hermione. No doubt they went off to have a talk. Cause it had always been the three of them. She had always felt like an extra when she was with them, the unwanted one.

Ginny walked away from her mother, saying she needed to be by herself for a little bit. She went to sit by the beech tree overlooking the lake. She needed to think things through. She did not intend to fall asleep there.

She woke up as the sun was rising the next day. Her brain hurt a lot less now that she had some sleep in her, although grief became a dominant emotion in her head. Suddenly, she saw a dark-haired man walk towards her. Her heart sped up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: First of all, I want to apologize for my abysmal grammar in my first chapter. I will work harder on using proper grammar in the future. Second of all, I want to thank everyone who has reviewed the story, added the story to their favorites, or added me as a favorite author. Your support is incredible and inspiring. I was especially impressed to see that the responses started coming in very shortly after I posted the first chapter. So, thank you everyone! DFTBA**

**Disclaimer: I am not J. K. Rowling, so I do not own the Harry Potter characters.**

The Second Time Around

Chapter 2:

Harry was walking towards her. This would be a conversation that would either end everything or start it all anew. Ginny wasn't sure she could survive if what they had ended, especially so soon after all the losses she had experienced in the past few years.

She was suddenly reminded of when they were first dating, and the sight of him heading towards her brought her inexplicable happiness and relief, despite the fear that clouded their lives. She had felt invincible. Ginny noticed her heartbeat had sped up, and she cursed herself for showing such noticeable signs merely for because of his presence.

Harry had that expression on his face; it meant that he was deep in thought and very determined. What would be said in this conversation would be very important to both of them, she realized. Another breakup would be devastating to both, even if they weren't together during the entire year. She knew instinctively that they would have to avoid each other. Their behavior towards each other at the Burrow over the previous summer had proven that. The awkwardness between them…the things left unsaid…and that had been while they had only broken up for safety reasons.

Harry was now about 30 feet away from her. "Ginny?" he asked quietly. She glanced at him, and then turned away. His green eyes were staring at her in an intense way, which could mean one of two things. She couldn't let herself get her hopes up. It would make her hurt so much more later.

He sat down a few feet away. A chaste difference. One that could mean that either he was afraid of what she was thinking, or he was about to say what she feared.

"Ginny?" he repeated. "Could you look at me, at least, please?" She could hear the urgency in his voice. It barely concealed hurt. She loved him enough to want to relieve that hurt.

Harry's black hair seemed more tousled and uncontrollable than usual. Scruff of a beard was on his cheeks and face, as if he hadn't been able to shave in a few days. There was a bruise on his left cheek and a small cut above his right eye. He looked like he had gotten a decent amount of sleep for the first time in days, or maybe even weeks. He looked completely vulnerable.

"We need to talk," he said.

"Did you find her, then?" Ginny whispered, "The veela or some Muggle-born whom you ran into while in hiding?"

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"You're here to say good-bye, aren't you? You found someone else, right?" Ginny felt like she would burst with the pain. The low self-confidence she had suppressed and hidden all these years, trying to be tough for her six older brothers, was coming out all in a rush. She was stupid to think Harry would ever love her, ever want her back. The tears she always tried to hold back were slowly starting.

"No! That's not…I'm not…I don't want to say good-bye!" Harry said. He reached out and touched Ginny's face for a second. "Quite the opposite, actually."

Ginny sat shocked. While she sat motionless, Harry leaned in and kissed her. It was months worth of kissing, all wrapped in one. It was Harry, expressing every emotion he felt for her. She felt winded, like her breath had been stolen from her.

"Ginny, you know why I ended it, and it wasn't because I wanted to. It was so hard for me. That time I spent with you, it felt like something out of someone else's life. It was the first time I'd ever experienced that kind of happiness. It was better than finding out I'm a wizard, or the time I spent at Hogwarts, or even having friends for the first time. I think you were the only thing that kept me sane. And when I ended it…I felt like I had nothing to live for anymore. I convinced myself it was all for you. Everything was for you, to keep you safe. So I could live with it. But then in the Burrow…" Harry smiled wistfully, "You were right there. Everything had the reminder of you in it. And I wanted to take you back. I hated the awkwardness between us. When you kissed me, you reminded me of every single reason why I shouldn't have ended it. I had to try to stay away from you after. It was too much."

Harry grabbed her hand. "Every day that I wasn't with you, I missed you like crazy. And I was worried about you, there at Hogwarts, at the mercy of Snape and all those Death Eaters." Harry grinned sheepishly, like he was about to admit something embarrassing. "I used to stare at your dot on the Marauder's map every night."

"Really?" Ginny asked, feeling happiness surge through her. "You did?"

"I did," Harry said, "Ginny, when I was in the forest before, Voldemort was supposed to kill me. It's complicated. But the last thing I thought of…well…was you. What I'm trying to say is, I love you, Ginny. I love you, and I want to try again. That is…if you-"

Ginny leaned in and kissed him. Harry wrapped his arms around her and weaved his fingers through her long, red hair.

"Oi!" Ron had been walking down the hill towards the beech tree, and spotted his best friend and his sister. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Isn't it obvious, Ron?" Hermione said, catching up to him, with a huge smile on her face. "They're back together!"


End file.
